Welcome to the Water for Elephants film blog. I began this blog in March 2010 when I learned that  the (my) beloved bestselling book, Water for  Elephants, had been optioned for a film.  I dove headlong into blogging about this ‘film in progress’ with a fool’s passion… Just after I began the blog I found the film’s director, Francis Lawrence, on Twitter and we struck up a ‘Twitter friendship’. His response tweets to my WFE questions became the foundation of this blog and his tweets continued throughout the entire shoot. A year after I began the film blog (March 2011) Francis graciously granted me a ‘phone interview‘. He’s an amazingly genuine, humble person and a brilliant director.  I cannot thank him enough for his kindness… Along the way I have met many of the actors and ‘behind the scenes‘ artists involved with Water for Elephants and they have generously contributed to my ‘film blog’. I also contacted WFE author, Sara Gruen,  via her Facebook page and she approved of  my feature page about her.   Hopefully my WFE  film blog is more than just a place to check for WFE film details, it’s meant to be a resource, a place to enjoy and learn about the process of film making and the people behind the scenes that bring it all together. This is an independent blog devoted to the film (and book) and I am in no way affiliated with the actual film or its producers.  For all of the latest Film/DVD News, Images, Videos, etc. click on the Page links in the sidebar. Check out WFE ~ Big Top for my random thoughts on the book, the film, the cast.  Your comments are much appreciated, so please leave your thoughts on any of the WFE Film blog pages. Thank you for visiting! © Copyright note: you may ‘excerpt’ content from this blog with prior permission. However, you may not copy and paste entire pages (words, images, etc.) from this blog to your blog or website . Be kind and link back to my blog – Thanks again!

~ In retrospect since I began the blog, a bit about me: “There are two very simple reasons that I began this blog over a year ago… First reason: I love Sara Gruen’s novel… Second reason: I love the WFE cast and film making in general. Two very good reasons to blog about the film. I am a bookseller (movies and music too) for one of America’s largest book stores and have been hand selling Water for Elephants to customers asking for a great book. Sara Gruen’s historical novel has been a perennial bestseller since it hit the shelves May 2006. The story line is so captivating that you cannot call this book ‘a story about the circus’, because it’s so much more than that. The subtext and underlying themes are quite deep and each reader will draw their own experiences from the book. When I first read Water for Elephants I immediately thought that it was very cinematic and hoped that it would be optioned for a film. When I learned that it had been optioned and was finally in pre-production I became very interested in the film and the cast. I was very surprised that the role of Jacob had been offered to Robert Pattinson and that he’d signed on. I think that Rob is a diamond in the rough, he has so many facets that have yet to be revealed. I think he’s perfect for Jacob and will bring many nuances to the role. Reese Witherspoon was the first to sign on and I think that she is going to be wonderful as Marlena. Reese has the ability to make us believe that she is the character she’s portraying, plus she has the proper ‘look’ for the time period. The role of August had been offered to Sean Penn, but for whatever reasons he did not accept and Christoph Waltz was signed instead. I think Christoph will bring the necessary charm and evil that is August; he will captivate us, no doubt about that. The story takes place during the Great Depression, specifically 1931, and portrays the hardscrabble existence of circus life. My hope is that director Francis Lawrence will accurately depict the gritty, dirty and baser aspects of the storyline. Suffice it to say that I am very passionate about the book and the film and will strive to bring you all of the latest news, images and updates in the coming months.  Thanks for visiting my blog and please leave your comments as I’d like this page to be a dialogue between those interested in the book and film.“